


Of Safes and Codes

by SPNxBookworm



Category: Mission: Impossible (Movies)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Hurt Ethan, Hurt/Comfort, Interrogation, Kidnapping, M/M, Post-Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011), Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-16 05:29:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18685075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SPNxBookworm/pseuds/SPNxBookworm
Summary: There are muffled sounds. Voices, he thinks. His body aches, especially the left side of his head. He's sitting on a cold surface. A floor?He tries to move, realizing his hands are tied.Why are they tied?As his foggy brain seems to get clearer, so do the voices.“...do we know he has clearance?”“It’s Ethan fucking Hunt, he’s the highest there is.”Ethan stills, stifling a moan of pain as he does his best not to make his apparent company know that he’s awake. They seem to know who he is though, which isn’t a good sign.The obvious conclusion here is that he’s been kidnapped.





	Of Safes and Codes

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sitting unfinished in my WIPs for quite a while now. I figured might as well finish and post it. It is completely un-beta'd so apologies for any errors. As always, if you spot any, let me know! 
> 
> Naila and I are co-hosting/modding the fandom's first ever M:I Big Bang! You can find more information [here](https://imfbigbang.tumblr.com/). Please do consider signing up! It'll be fun! Sign ups are open for writers, artists and beta readers! Do check it out! 
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy the fic!

There are muffled sounds. _Voices_ , he thinks. His body aches, especially the left side of his head. He's sitting on a cold surface. A floor? 

He tries to move, realizing his hands are tied. 

Why are they tied? 

As his foggy brain seems to get clearer, so do the voices. 

“...do we know he has clearance?”

“It’s Ethan fucking Hunt, he’s the highest there is.” 

Ethan stills, stifling a moan of pain as he does his best not to make his apparent company know that he’s awake. They seem to know who he is though, which isn’t a good sign. 

The obvious conclusion here is that he’s been kidnapped, and tied up to what Ethan thinks is either a really thick pole or a support beam. The voices of the two unidentified individuals echo around the room suggesting they’re either in a large space, maybe a warehouse. 

“You sure about that?” 

“Don’t fucking take that sarcastic tone with me jackass. Now, Take the bag off his head.” 

Ethan is unable to maintain his pretense of being unconscious as his surroundings suddenly shift from pitch black to blinding light, making him grunt in pain. The pounding in his head tells him that he probably has a concussion that isn’t going away any time soon. A slightly warm, sticky feeling on the left side of his head suggests half dried blood. Great, he’s split his head open. It also seems to be the cause for Ethan having lost consciousness after being assaulted in an alley three blocks from the safe house. 

He hates being hit on the head. Sometimes he wonders how he doesn’t have permanent brain damage. 

Maybe he does, he thinks offhandedly. He wouldn’t be surprised in any case. He smiles inwardly thinking about Will and how he would probably say that brain damage would be a legitimate reason for all the insanity Ethan pulls on missions. 

A hard slap lands on his right cheek, stinging. He grunts in pain and squints, trying to identify his kidnappers. 

"Something amusing here, pal?" 

Ethan squints up at the gruff voice, his expression neutral. "No. Not really," he replies after a beat. He really wants to mouth off, but something tells Ethan that this guy isn't going to be patient. The man is quite built, scarring evident on the right side of his face, about six feet tall and he has a gun shoved into a makeshift holster on his left hip. Ethan doesn't miss how his hands are almost twitching towards the gun every few seconds. 

He needs to play this smart, not stupid for once. 

Besides, with enough time, he has confidence that Will can track him down. 

He hopes, anyway. 

"Smart move," grunts the man as he gets to his feet, carelessly stepping over Ethan's knee as he walks to a laptop that's situated on a foldable table. 

Ethan grits his teeth, willing himself not to cry out in pain. His eyes roam his surroundings, training kicking in as he catalogues all his escape routes. He was right about being in a warehouse of sorts. It's an empty lot with a few support beams at equal intervals, a few windows that are too high for Ethan to scale and one lone door within his line of sight about twenty feet away. 

_Shit._

Well, even if he can make it out of the ropes digging into his wrists behind his back, he knows logically there's no way he's escaping without incapacitating his kidnappers. A particularly painful throb at his left temple reminds him that, while he's been in worse situations, possible concussions will only be detriment to his flimsy escape plan to sprint for the door. 

Ethan thumps his head backwards, against the beam, his gaze now analyzing the shorter, lankier, blonde haired man who seems to be doing his best to look anywhere but at Ethan. He keeps switching between looking at his jittery hands to then look at his burly partner, as if trying to build up the courage to say something. 

Ethan stays silent as he watches the timid man jog over to Scarface as Ethan is now referring to him. "Mark, I don't think this is a good idea," says Timmy Boy. Despite his predicament, Ethan is quite proud of the nicknames he's come up with for both his assailants. 

The name Mark, however, rings a distant bell within Ethan's memory. 

Mark doesn't seem to be interested in what Little Timmy has to say and decidedly ignores him, practically shoving him aside as he marches over to Ethan, somehow also having acquired a serrated blade from the foldable table. 

Ethan gulps, keeping his face neutral, refusing to show any fear. He's not scared, per se, but also he'd be quite pleased if this little adventure of his didn't end in being stabbed in the gut. 

"You know, I've heard stories about The Great Ethan Hunt. Gotta say, from where I'm standing, I'm pretty disappointed," taunts Mark, making a show of running a thumb across the jagged serrations of the blade in his hand. 

"That makes the two of us," Ethan says, smiling as he meets eyes with Scarface. It's then that his memory clicks into place. 

Mark laughs and kneels down in front of Ethan and Ethan can't help the involuntary shiver that runs up his spine. The laugh is anything but sinister. Ethan instantly knows this man has no intention of letting him live. But he also now remembers where he's seen the man before, and he can only hope that that will stall him and buy enough time for Will to get there. 

He must have realized by now that Ethan's in trouble. 

Right? 

Further musings and panicking are interrupted when a fist is rammed into Ethan's abdomen. The warehouse is filled with echoes of Ethan's sharp breathing. 

"You're not really good at this interrogation thing," Ethan taunts. "You see, you gotta ask a question first. And if I don't answer, that's when I get hit." 

He knows its a mistake the moment he's done talking. Only he misjudges Mark's enthusiasm for weaponry and torture and can't help the shout of pain as Mark embeds the knife into the meaty part of Ethan's thigh. 

Ethan's breathing is harsh, glaring at Fuckface as Ethan now wants to call him. He registers Timmy Boy standing a few feet behind Mark, looking like this is the last place he wants to be. 

The fact that Mark hasn't said anything so far unnerves Ethan. Usually their enemies go into monologues of whatever they're trying to achieve. Mark seems content in just watching Ethan suffer. The horror-movie-eqsue grin on his face does nothing to quell Ethan's nerves. He grunts anew as Mark twists the blade that's still embedded into Ethan's thigh. 

"You know," Ethan grounds out through clenched teeth. "You decided on a career change here, Mark Stavish? Last I checked, you were a contract killer? Switched over to kidnapping and torture, have you?" 

Mark chuckles as he lets go of the blade that twitches every time Ethan shifts. "I knew you'd remember eventually. I still haven't forgotten the wonderful gift you left me with last time we met," he points to the scarring on his face. He then gets to his feet. "This job, I couldn't resist. It brought me to you, didn't it?" 

"Hope you're being paid enough," Ethan retorts, weakly as the warehouse does a lazy spin. 

"Eight million, actually." 

"Wait, you said it was two million to be divided equally between us. What the fuck, Mark?" says Timmy Boy so suddenly that Ethan physically flinches, having forgotten the man was even in the room. 

Mark sighs, and before Ethan can blink, Mark's removed his gun from his holster and is now pointing it at Timmy Boy. "You know, the only thing I didn't agree to with this job was you, Darius." 

And before Darius can say a word, a bang reverberates around the room that makes Ethan's head pound twice as hard as it was before. He grits his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut, part of him feeling sorrow for Darius. That man was just in the wrong job, at the wrong place, at the wrong time. 

"So, anyway," Mark addresses Ethan. "I want nothing more than to kill you, _slowly._ " 

_Where are you, Will?_ Ethan thinks, recognizing the slow decent into madness that Mark seems to be heading toward. Ethan knows he isn't making it out of here alive. He's already tried getting out of his restraints but so far, all it's done is cut into his wrists and add a new source of pain to deal with. 

"But," Mark continues, elongating the 'uh'. "My employers need some information from you, before I have the pleasure of slitting your throat and watching you choke on your own blood." 

He then saunters back to Ethan, kneeling in front of him. "There's a safe located within the IMF headquarters. It's in the Chief Analyst's office." Ethan's stomach jolts unpleasantly at that knowledge, hoping against everything that his husband, Chief Analyst William Brandt, is safe. 

Now, part of him hopes Will never finds him. 

"All I want is the combination to that safe. You give me that, and maybe your death won't be as painful. You don't, and I'll make sure you're begging for me to kill you. Your choice." 

Ethan knows that's a flat out lie. There's a malicious glint in Mark's eyes and no matter whether or not Ethan complies, he knows he's dying a painful death. 

Might as well go down swinging, right? 

"I'm not the Chief Analyst," Ethan says. "Why would I have the combination?" 

"You're one of the top agents, aren't you? You have clearance. I have a guy on the inside that's seen you walk in and open that safe," Mark says, twirling the gun that he still holds, aiming it subtly at Ethan. 

_Fuck. We have a mole?!_

"I don't know it," Ethan says, internally bracing himself for the pain he knows he's about to endure. However, what happens next is something Ethan doesn't anticipate. 

Another loud bang echoes through the warehouse and the renewed throbbing in his head makes Ethan cry out in pain. That throbbing turns to agony as something slams into his left temple. His vision rapidly darkens as he tries in vain to keep himself awake. 

The last thing he remembers is Will calling out his name. 

  **~o~**

"You sure you're okay?" Will asks worriedly as he sits opposite Ethan, both clad in grey sweatpants and loose black v-necks, at the kitchen counter in their safe house. Ethan sits holding a bag of frozen peas to his head, wincing slightly every time he moves it. 

As it pans out, the sharp hit to his head had been Mark's gun. Will had entered the warehouse having tracked Ethan down to see Mark holding a gun to his partner and had effectively aimed for the head. While going down, the hand that had been holding the gun had smacked into Ethan. 

Ethan had woken up on the couch of their safe house with his wounds tended to, Will somehow having managed to carry Ethan in a fireman's lift into his car and then up two flights of stairs into their apartment - their safe house. 

Ethan nods and then regrets the movement as it brings a wave of nausea. "I'm fine. Thanks to you," he says making sure his gratitude and love his heard within his tone. 

Will offers a small smile. "What happened?" 

Ethan groans, more so in embarrassment than anything else. "I got jumped and kidnapped," he scoffs. "Don't know if you recognized the guy you shot." 

Will nods. "Mark Stavish, well-known contract killer. IMF's had their eyes on him for the last couple months. He's the prime suspect for the assassination of Agent Taylor." 

Ethan nods. "I didn't recognize him at first. We have history. I'd been on a protection detail a couple years ago. The scarring on his face was courtesy of me throwing a cheap grenade towards him while getting the guy I was protecting to safety. By the looks of today, apparently he never really got over it. He was looking forward to torturing me," Ethan laughs mirthlessly.  

"I'm glad I put a bullet in him then after what he did to you," Will says vehemently. "IMF clean-up crew is on site, by the way. I called them after I was sure you wouldn't need the hospital." 

Ethan nods while smiling to himself, a warm feeling coursing through him. They both despise the whiteness, the smell of disinfectant, the depressing atmosphere of the hospital. They've come to a point where they tend to patch either up unless its absolutely obvious that the hospital is needed; both having spent way too many times sitting in uncomfortable chairs, watching the other barely pull through. 

"What did he want with you, though?" Will questions, leaning over the counter towards his husband, reaching out to hold Ethan's free hand. 

Ethan can tell Will's shaken. And he knows the news he's about to give isn't going to make matters any better. He sighs as he sets down the bag of peas. "He wanted the combination to the safe in your office." 

Will's jaw drops and Ethan holds tightly onto Will's hand as he watches the flicker of emotions crossing Will's face. "Shit," Will curses. "Shit, _shit!_ " 

"Sweetheart, look at me," Ethan says, alarmed at seeing the anger and _guilt_ in Will's eyes. He waits patiently until Will's blue eyes meet his own green ones. "This is not your fault." 

Will seems to struggle for a while before licking his lips and nodding, letting go of Ethan's hand and burying his face in his own. "Who was the other guy?" Will asks after a beat of silence. 

Ethan shrugs, wincing as his left temple gives a particularly painful throb. "He looked like he didn't want to be there, like he was forced to be there, almost. Only caught his name before Mark shot him. Darius, I think it was." 

Will stills, his eyes widening. "I knew I recognized him! Darius Cohen. He is - was - a member of the Cohen clan. They've been on IMF radar for a while too. They..." Will trails off, looking deep in thought. 

"Did you find out anything else?" Will asks suddenly. 

"Uh, oh _fuck!"_  Ethan exclaims. "I can't believe I almost forgot about this. There's a potential mole in IMF. The reason I got taken was because someone saw me head into your office to enter the combination." 

Will suddenly goes pale, and having spent years working alongside and living with Will, Ethan immediately recognizes the look of his partner having figured something out. Will stumbles off of his stool and sprints to the bedroom. He exits the room clutching his phone to his ear as he walks up to Ethan, leaning one hand on the counter. "Go secure," Will says. He waits a second and then says, "Benji, please tell me you're still at HQ." 

A pause. 

"Head over to my office and check my safe. Combination is five-two-one-nine. See if there's a file labelled CW001. Call me back as soon as you check. Hey, watch your back." 

Ethan looks at Will as he cuts the call, raising a hand to rest it at the base of Will's neck. Will leans into the touch, sighing. 

"The Cohen's have been under suspicion for the murder of two well known businessmen. It wouldn't be IMF related usually, but these guys were also primary sources for intel for anything regarding illegal biochemical weaponry since they work within the biochemicals industry. There's a file in my safe that has the latest bit of intel I was sent regarding possible weaponry locations along with the names of two witnesses that saw the second guy being murdered. Ethan, that file in the wrong hands..." Will trails off, running a hand through his hair. 

"Benji's gone to check," Ethan reassures. "And we'll figure out the mole situation too." 

Not a moment too soon, Will's phone rings. He encrypts the call as soon as he picks it up. "Please tell me the file and contents aren't missing." He listens for a few seconds before visibly sagging in relief. "Thanks, Benji. I owe you. Listen, Ethan suspects there's a mole in IMF trying to get to the file. We'll have to play this smart. For now, just put the file back and lock the safe and watch your back getting home." 

Ethan absently draws patterns with his finger across Will's forearm that's resting on the counter. 

"Don't worry, the safe code changes every night and the I'm the only one who knows how to access the new code. Take care, Benji. See you soon," Will cuts the call. "This job is so stressful, sometimes I wonder why I even do this." 

Ethan chuckles as he pulls Will's face towards him, kissing him softly. Will smiles at him when they break apart. "You okay?" Ethan asks. 

Will nods. "We fix this mess and I will be." 

Ethan agrees and unsteadily gets to his feet, throwing his lover a silent look of thanks as Will steadies him. They both head to their bedroom, deciding things can wait until morning. 

As they lay down, Ethan doesn't comment on how Will is being clingier than usual, how he's extra careful to make sure he isn't applying pressure to Ethan's injured thigh while wrapping his legs around Ethan's, how he presses soft kisses to Ethan's forehead before settling down next to him; how he buries himself into Ethan's inviting arms. Ethan doesn't miss the tremor that slowly disappears as Will falls into slumber. He just wraps his arms tightly around his partner, Will's face buried into the crook of Ethan's neck. The even breaths against his neck ground him, calm him down. Soon enough, Ethan's eyelids droop and he's out within minutes, exhaustion finally crashing over him. 

What happened to Ethan, what they've figured out has shaken them both to the core. But as always, Ethan knows, they'll figure it out. They'll figure it out and fix it. 

They always do. 

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, shamelessly plugging the [M:I Big Bang](https://imfbigbang.tumblr.com/). We are very excited to host it. As Naila puts it, its a way of bringing together all the talented people in this fandom in one place so that we can all enjoy some quality content. Please do consider signing up. 
> 
> As always, reviews are love!


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